Video: Watch Jimmy Fallon Play Breath of the Wild on the Nintendo Switch

So let me be the first to say USB-C was confirmed on the bottom of the Switch, I'm sure nobody will be upset that I posted this first.

The gameplay looked great and you couldn't see a jaggy or rough edge on such a huge screen! Watching a few breakdowns online & already people seem to think it the game was running 60fps 1080p in console mode & 720p 30fps in handheld. If this is correct then I'm really happy. Of course the real test will be in January when we see other games with more realistic art styles.

Cool! But I still didn't see them use the touchscreen...

That undocked framerate is SO SMOOTH YO.

And the docked game seems to be running at a higher resolution than the Wii U version (no jaggies!). Nintendo is finally getting its marketing right!

Edit: not sure how people are jumping to the conclusion the game is running at 60fps? It's a 30fps video.

@PlanetaryNebulae But that would spoil the "secret". How would we be blown away by the heavily leaked touchscreen in January if they used it here?

Very nice!

Inb4 negativity ensues.

Nintendo giving the Switch exposure, and doing actual, you know, marketing, on a talk show? About time, Nintendo, you're finally learning!

THIS IS AMAZING

Yay, Nintendo.

@AlexSora89 They did same thing with the Wii U 4 years ago

I think this was a great move. Think of the thousands of people that saw this live with no clue about the console prior. Now they know about it and some might start spreading the word. I'm glad to see Nintendo putting in some effort on this front.

Folks Nintendo did this 4 years ago with the wii u at Jimmy fallon. He was playing skyward sword and he show the wii u. It was at June 2011 after e3 I think

@MitchVogel Mitch Did you realize nintendo did this with the wii u 4 years ago.

The true test is still the January event but this was cool.

@therealgamer
Didn't know that. I wrote my comment before watching, now I'm almost at the end of the video and I really hope Fallon's knowledge of Miyamoto's adventuring days isn't scripted because I'm loving every second of Fallon's geekery.

Just a warning, don't read the YouTube comments. People are trying SO hard to be negative and utterly failing.

"The FPS is too low"
"The FPS is too high, the battery won't last"

I really wish trolls would occasionally get their story straight sometimes.

@Grumblevolcano It was cool. Now the zelda botw is running 1080p 30 fps

@YouSeemFRAZZLED They are not trending world wide on twitter

@therealgamer A lot of tech breakdown sites seem to be thinking it's running 1080p 60fps. It can't be confirmed right now as the program is likely broadcast at 24fps... but wondering how you got to the lower number?

@DanteSolablood Cause the switch version is running a debug switch. The game is lock in 30 second.

Dam you Jimmy. Always getting the good stuff. So hyped about this console now and can't wait to get my hands on one. Pre ordered mine today.

@therealgamer "Cause the switch version is running a debug switch. The game is lock in 30 second."

I know what all those words mean, but they make little sense in that order. If you mean that the Switch is running in a debug mode & locked at 30fps... there was no evidence of this on the screen. Again, where was this information obtained?

Also, if you look at some scenes like the boulder being rolled down the tower it was running very smoothly & not dropping a frame. This could be achievable in 30fps but unlikely.

Jan 12 will see games like
Pikmin 4
Mario sunshine HD
Mario kart 8 ( yes the wii u version will get the update play king boo and new course aka the Mario kart pack 3)
Mario Golf (both wii u and switch)
and many more games

Also rumor that switch will launch 20 games.

I thought the hearts had disappeared in Breath of the Wild but there they are once again. I guess I must have dreamed it.

@therealgamer If the Mario Kart 8 with DLC is based on the trailer footage we know that there is more than DLC as the trailer clearly showed some gameplay alterations such as being able to store two items at once. Plus Mario Sunshine HD & Mario Sunshine for VC? That just doesn't make sense.

@DanteSolablood Devs and including Nintendo don't show games on the actually system. They show on a debug system. Also the game is running at 30 frames. Its hard to tell on a console. But I 90% sure the game is running at 30 not 60. Remember we did not see any combat or anything. Now the handled part is running at 720p.

@DanteSolablood DLC and Update at Mario Kart. Now Mario sunshine is real. It is coming to the wii u also proof IMDB. IMDB is not wikipeda that anyone can edit. Only people who edit IMDB is IMDB or the agent of the person. Here is mario sunshine HD - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5961842/?ref_=nv_sr_2 and mario galaxy 3 - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5311510/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_3. Also the gamecube VC is a rumor.

Cool, but I sure hope that they will advertise and hype up the Switch in other countries than just the US.

@therealgamer Yup, Super Mario Sunshine HD... releasing in February according to IMDB. Shame it won't have anything to run on for a month.

@therealgamer That's a lot of Mario for the reveal,some would say overkill.

Mario 3D
Mario Sunshine HD (it's already rumoured to be on Gamecube VC day one or are we getting that on top? )
Mario Kart 8
Mario Golf

If you weren't making it up I'd be shaking my head at Nintendo.

@therealgamer Yes, anyone can edit the IMDB page, I just issued an update to add you in the cast as "Banjo Kazooie". It's not gone through yet, but considering they have the game listed as releasing "February 2017", I don't know how well they check their information.

Also, in regards to the Switch being a debug unit & locked to 30fps, the debug units don't normally look much like the finished product & are rarely used when promoting the console to potentially millions of viewers.. you want the product to look the best it can. Debugs are for devs to look at at trade shows etc.

As for Mario Kart 8 for the Switch, there may be a version.. but again we already know it will have MORE than DLC, the trailer showed a fundamental game change that goes beyond "DLC".

That was fan-TASTIC I really enjoyed that, good job Nintendo!

I'll watch BotW any time, but I'd gladly opt out of having to watch Jimmy Fallon. That guy gives me the creeps.

All aboard the hype train!

It looked really nice but it didn't really show much. I'm leaning towards the Switch version now though

@OorWullie Indeed, if he hadn't tried to tell me it was a "debug unit locked at 30fps" and used IMDB, a fan edited movie site to confirm Super Mario Sunshine was due out (in February)... he'd be more credible.

Right idea, but maybe the wrong time? I'd have done it the week after the event in January. People probably aren't going to go out and pre-order a couple of weeks before Christmas. In mid Jan it could be the perfect start to a 2 month marketing blitz.

@therealgamer Stop trying to pretend you know things, it's cluttering up the comments

30fps, 60fps, 1080p, 720p, 4K...I could give a toss! This is Nintendo, this is A Breath of the Wild. All I know is Twilight Princess was a misstep, Skyward Sword got things right back on track and this latest Zelda episode looks to be continuing the frighteningly strong saga of titles.

If performance is a concern for you, let me ask you this, those PS4/XB1 games running at a locked 60fps?

As much as my initial reaction is "Why is it first being shown on flipping Jimmy Fallon?", it does make sense; with a bit of luck this will really help Nintendo with marketing. (and hopefully they'll continue with other marketing stuff like this!!)

And obviously the Switch looks amazing, as we all thought it would!

@ducktrapper I think I read somewhere that hearts indicate your life force still, but you can't get them by just cutting grass as in previous games. I think it's the cooking meals that replenishes hearts, but not sure how you increase your total.

@YouSeemFRAZZLED I wish I'd bought their shares at the start of the year, ^_^.

@therealgamer Real, credible sources please. You seem to be throwing out a mixture of speculative guesses and negative BS. In fact, inbox me a shot of your TNA game, then I might put some stock in what you are saying.

EDIT: In fact, don't bother. It'd be the equivalent of me asking some random on a forum to prove that they in fact do own all consoles, a Maserati, the 6 bedroom home by the beach that they claim to live in, and a shot of their supermodel wife.

Awesome!!

I loved the way hey revealed thst switch from thst question box

@The-Chosen-one Good point, they've had to put out new consoles to reach that benchmark. Even then, 4K at 60 FPS is unrealistic at £350 retail.

@Pazuzu666 Yeah, I must admit I was geeking out right along with Fallon over that one.

Seeing him geek out like that made me laugh. I can't wait for that to be me when the game is in my hands.

"Watch Jimmy Fallon Play Breath of the Wild on the Nintendo Switch"

He walked up a hill and pressed Y 3 times... Chilling gameplaysegment!

Too bad Nintendo uses his show to promote their products, because he's just an unfunny spaz, but on the other hand he's probably the only talkshowhost that has any affinity with Nintendo...

That was a good piece - Jimmy Fallon was a good choice because he's great at bigging things up without any obvious 'tells' that's he's just pretending. He might really be into Zelda and Mario, or he might not, but he did well enough in that video to disguise it if he isn't. Other chat show hosts aren't as good at that as him.

The only thing I thought they could have done better was, rather than have Reggie tell us how you can play Switch anywhere, they should have scripted some funny interruption that meant Jimmy needed to undock and take it with him somewhere.

@Snader Shield slides are about as cool as it gets in this world, my man.

I'm still impressed by how good it looks on the big screen considering how small the unit is

I know that the switch is all about console games on the go, but come on see a high quality game running on a handheld that way still impressive!

"EVERY KID, EVERY HUMAN, EVERY PERSON!!" XD he freaks me out but I kinda like him in this lol

Mr Miyamoto and the roots also performed the Super Mario Bro's theme on the show.

Ok Nintendo, why do you dangle the carrot in front of my face? I may have to bump the NS back to day one.

Shigeru Miyamoto and The Roots Perform "Super Mario Bros. Theme"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V17tXBePgfo

They are making the right hardware choices, just make games for it!

I've only seen the Jimmy Fallon show a few times and I think he's quite good. This however just looks wrong, having Regge on the show!

It's looks very corporate. I wonder how much Nintendo had to pay.

And now we'll take an add break from the add. 😳

Certainly can't hurt showing it off on Fallon. Though it would be better if people could have pulled out their phones to preorder the system at that moment if they wished. Not sure if that's possible?

To think a creeper like Fallon got top lay Switch first, no fair.

Did anyone else notice a brief UI as Reggie took the Switch from the dock?

The screen had a white window that came up about 3/4 high and if you listen closely you can hear Reggie press a button and some sound effects happen.

I imagine in these supposed 'settings' you might be able to turn off this UI as you transition, but it was still very quick even if it's fixed.

I was as excited as him for that. Nintendo only have to confirm backwards compatibility with WiiU eshop and my happiness will be complete.

@PlanetaryNebulae
I don't think it will be a touch screen, if you need to dock it to play on the TV then where is your touch screen? No touch screen might freak people out a bit but I would be fine with it

This looked absolutely amazing. I had my doubts after the Game Awards footage shown last week, but they've completed changed my tune. You've gotta admit - Jimmy Fallon's excitement is contagious!

Shigeru Miyamoto was there also and played the Super Mario Bros theme with the Roots house band. He was finger picking an acoustic and appeared to be quite skilled. I figured I would toss that neat info in.

No metroid, no buy.

I though Jimmy F came across really well and a massive geek like us. I've warmed to him. Please people stop trying to guess the resolution and frame rate from a 24fps off screen video - it's embarrassing.

Question is, if no touch screen, how will you play Splatoon?

So happy to see this this morning, I just can't understand any negativity at all. Reggie was being promoted as being on The Tonight Show w/ Jimmy Fallon to show off SMR and he pulls out Zelda on the Switch!!! The Switch they said they weren't talking about until January. And it looked good. And Fallons enthusiasm is contagious to his crowd.

Yeah, maybe Nintendo did the same thing w/ the Wii U 4 years ago, but that was more of a traditional console launch, it was shown off at E3 ahead of a November launch. Now we are in December, Switch launches in 100 days, and this is the VERY FIRST game play of any Switch game. And it's being done on a popular late night TV show by a very enthusiastic TV host. I don't see how this is anything but positive. And it probably didn't cost Nintendo anything b/c Apple is already paying for the SMR coverage and to put Miyamoto up in a hotel for his appearance in the Apple store today. Apple probably won't let Switch in the store so this was their chance to market it on Apple's dime.

I'm pretty sure this is the best thing Nintendo has done in years.

I haven't seen Jimmy Fallon this excited since that time a celebrity told a horribly unfunny anecdote on his show and he clapped his hands and did a big fake laugh then started pounding on his desk.

Also you can see a button on the back of each JoyCon on the inside of the shoulder buttons. I suppose this is how you take them off.

@rjejr totally agree. This is a good step. Hopefully a few more little surprises like this and the "games reveal" in Jan then boom pre-orders will fly in.

Nintendo finally got a marketing team it looks like. Maybe the Switch will indeed be a "Switch" for Nintendo.

In about a minute or two of play-time, Nintendo was able to answer and deflect a surprising amount of criticism.

Also, is it me, or the triggers look like analog one? That's a whole 'nother rabbit while to slide down.

I do feel better about Super Mario Run.

how can you guys judge the framerate? the video is not 60fps and therefor you wont see a difference anyway.

@therealgamer You're right but, it wasn't clearly explained before than that it wasn't a wii add-on. The Switch obviously does this.

@atomicjuicer I have more than just faith that a new Metroid game will come out for THE Nintendo Switch.

@Shiryu Miyamoto: You fai.... JK you got some skill.

@OorWullie
You have to realize nintendo is hoping for Mario fever because of Mario run. So I'm willing to bet all these day one Mario games are meant to attract all these Mario Run users to the switch.

I am just honestly amazed at the undocked Switch's capabilities! Smooth frames, great definition and all on a multi-massive open world LOZ! I have a feeling that this thing is gonna take more time from me than Monster Hunter.

Awww Bill <3

Edit: Never thought Jimmy Fallon is such a geek! Ah his reactions are just lovable! Probably how I'd feel in similar situation.

@00Wyvern Its Nintendo's share stock values.

@MitchVogel Um. Lest we forget?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7hzVAMMw0I

Nintendo is doing nothing new here, folks.

@therealgamer

Correct.

Good to see that they are advertising the heck out of the system! This is what they need! Nintendo needs to realize that not everyone just looks on the internet, but they also need to make it have appearances on other things! Commercials beginning in January's reveal would also give it big bumps, not just from cartoons, but the adult-situated shows (Sony and Microsoft seem to advertise a lot during Family Guy and Simpsons and Cartoon Network). Hopefully nintendo continues this, and...once it does get released...they don't stop the marketing and commercials. Go nintendo!!!!

@Clownshoes Jimmy Fallon is actually really popular among college-young adults, and actually gets a lot of people watching his videos on Youtube and more...this was actually good advertising for them, since they really don't want to reveal too much about the Switch for the time being...it's helping them keep the 'HYPE' pace that they've been doing, stronger.

@rjejr I'm surprised that you're not mad that Nintendo lied to us, yet again. however to be fair, If I recall, I don't think they ever said they wouldn't show the switch between now and Jan, just no new info. I'm too lazy this morning to confirm that, so I could be dead wrong.

Though seriously, I was watching live and majorly geeked out when I saw the Switch reveal! Is it me, or did Reggie look nervous when handing over the console to Jimmy? In the close shot of his hand, it appeared to be shaking all bit. Ha

Good thing for Youtube and Nintendo Life. Would have never known this (I only watch the Tonight Show very sporadically). Great move on Nintendo's part.

@Robotron2084 Reggie is the disease, Fallon is the cure.

@OneArmedGiant: Where can you pre-order the Switch?

@Clownshoes Although I hate Fallon and think he is one of the least funny people to ever com out of SNL, for some reason his show is the most popular late night venue. And he genuinely likes video games.

My only beef is that it was too soon for the Switch. People go on these shows to promote a movie, book or album that can be bought that moment. You can't buy the Switch right now, or even preorder.

Maybe they can go back on in February and promote it again when preorders are open.... well, assuming of course the scalpers haven't snatched them all up already.

Man...... That looks so fun to play. I can't wait to preorder my Nintendo Switch. Cool!!

@rjejr

Nintendo advertises the Switch on TV, you don't criticize them a bit (not even a jab at Reggie or Trinen) and even write the company's name three times without a single misspelling.

End of the world confirmed. Hope it lets us get to the Switch's release

@sinalefa You haven't been around here much, I don't blame you, my auto-correct finally learned Nintendo, it's not me. My jab at Reggie was post #97. It's an in joke. So in probably even the guy I told it to didn't get it, though he should have.

@Sir_JBizzle I'm pretty sure Reggie was afraid the first thing Fallon was going to do was touch the screen to see if it reacted. I'm sure they must have told him in advance, "Whatever you do, don't ask about the screen!" but did you see the way Flaloon went at it? Trying to get that kickstand out so he could put it down and look at it. I know he's an actor, but he seemed legitimately excited to me. Like he wanted to take the Joycon off but then thought to himself "Oh wait, don't want to break the thing, that would be bad."

And yeah, they lied to us again. And I'm not sure FINALLY showing some game play unannounced on TTS late at night was the way to go. Falloon could have easily quadrupled his audience if they had marketed - "For the first time EVER, see Zelda played on the Switch!". But you know what. Nintneod did something good. And I'll be a hypocrite and say I don't like when they lie to us and then go back on their word and do annoying things, but if they are going to lie and do stupid things, well then by all means change their minds and do something right for once.

@therealgamer IMDb can be edited by imdbpro subscribers. So don't take what's on there as truth.... Literally any oh the thousands subscribed could have put that up

I'm not that big of a Fallon fan but I have to admit that it was kinda cute how excited he gets when he gets to play. I may not agree with him on everything but I can tell he's a gamer at heart, he has my respect.

@gcunit The thing is he does seem genuinely into it. In the past he's been very vocal about his love of video games in past interviews. And with his old segments on video games (e.g. playing GoldenEye with Pierce Brosnan) it's not always been about a new product so it does feel genuine. Obviously, he's throwing out some bold statements as that's the presenter's job but he does seem to honestly care.

@sinalefa

@rjejr 's orderly provided him with applesauce in his IV this morning.

Color me surprised, Nintendo actually seems to realize again that they can utilize a media venue for advertising. Sure, they've been on Jimmy Fallon's show before with the Wii U, but they didn't really make as good of an impression with the Wii U as they did this time with the Sandwitch. A fully fledged console level Zelda on the go, at system launch, is no joke.

Jimmy was like a kid in a candy store! I'm not sure who's more excited about it him or me!

@gatorboi352 @therealgamer

C'mon guys let's give credit where credit is due. Sure, they featured on Jimmy a couple times, but it was a totally different set of circumstances. In 2011, they just showed off the console, no Wii U content even ran on the machine, and if I remember correctly, Reggie did a poor job explaining it and it was a over a year before launch. In 2013, it felt more like damage control, being that at the time, the Wii U was floundering, for the lack of advertisement for one, 3rd parties were dropping off, and Nintendo needed to get out the message what the Wii U actually was. The common thread about those two instances, they were a part of "Video Game Week" on his show.

This was an isolated event promoting Super Mario Run, that had a live appearance of the Switch 3 months to launch, almost fresh off the back of a reveal that has everyone talking. They communicated what it was, and actually showed gameplay, from a game everyone is still excited about, that I'm sure fans wanted to see what it looked like on the new kit.

@rjejr I'm just giving you a hard time (per usual). And I totally agree with that. I'm sure Reggie was nervous Jimmy was going to drop the thing or touch the screen (Not that Nintendo would have even enabled the function)

His passion for gaming in general, is pretty well known. So his excitement is very real. As far as promoting it before hand, the segment was to promote SMR, I'm sure Apple wouldn't have been too happy that they would advertise the Switch beforehand. The show is also viewed by 3.5 million viewers (if you put any stock in Nielsen ratings), TTS's Youtube has over 12mil subs, so I don't think that will be much of an issue the way Nintendo went at it promotion wise.

@Sinalefa

Who is this Jimmy guy? Is he like some dude on TV or something? I don't really follow the mainstream media...

I want it! I want it!! I want it!!!

@Sir_JBizzle Yep, plus check Reggie playing SM3DW - he's hardly doing it justice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7hzVAMMw0I
And I doubt the demo of Game & Wario won over too many people either

@therealgamer everything trends worldwide on Twitter nowadays.

@LARSUSMAKSIMUS cool guy....and yeah he is.

Admittedly not a big fan of Fallon, but I can't deny the fact that I was just excited as he was. You could feel his enthusiasm! Great job Nintendo with your marketing! Yeah, yeah, I know, same thing also happened with the Wii U. However I feel like this was a great idea because
1. Jimmy Fallon's show is pretty popular so it makes sense to feature the Switch on his show.
2. The Switch has more people talking about Nintendo than the Wii U could ever imagine.
3. Nintendo has bit-by-bit shown teasers for BOTW making people more interested and hyped for the game and the Switch itself

I don't know guys, Nintendo might make the greatest comeback in video game history. Let's hear for Nintendo!

@PlywoodStick hopefully a bigger roster for pokken tournament on the way?

@Shiryu No doubt that gif will be popping up all over the internet for years to come

@Sir_JBizzle Sorry, man. But I'm just not buying it. This is no different than any previous efforts. I get that Switch is new and all these things happening in real time builds the current hype felt around the system.

But, it's really the same deal, different day.

Again, nothing is going to help Switch be successful more than a steady flow of 1st and more importantly 3rd party content. Without both of these things, Switch will be Wii U 2.0.

@LARSUSMAKSIMUS He has one of the most popular talk shows on TV right now.

I was watching this live last night, only knowing that they'd show Super Mario Run. Nothing too exciting or new. But when Reggie said the was something more, I was giddy like a kid, just like Fallon. Such an awesome surprise! Thankfully the video got posted immediately afterwards on Fallon's official Youtube channel, I've watched it so many times it's embarrassing. My hype level is now over 9000!.

PS: For anyone doubting Fallon's "geek cred", I suggest watching his appearance on Diggnation way back when he was about to start (or perhaps had just recently started) hosting the Tonight Show. Just the fact that he appeared on it says a lot.

@Yorumi "He could fake being a fan of the product but I doubt he's doing that."

I think he's excited, the only thing I wonder that they may have faked is his surprise at the announcement. He's all "Oh no, it can't be a Switch?" before Reggie uncovers it. Is that even possible that they could have set up a functioning Switch hooked up to his big screen and got it under the box w/o him knowing about it beforehand? That sounds like asking a lot. And wouldn't they have to tell him abut it beforehand? What if he hadn't seen the trailer? What if Reggie opened the box and Fallon was like - "Oh, what's that Reggie?" Don't you think he would have told in advance just to be on the safe side?

@polivar4 Meh, it could have been the next big Pokémon battler offshoot since the Stadium series 15 years ago, but Pokken didn't really live up to it's potential. It should have had at least as many playable creatures as the Japanese's first Stadium game.

Lol That was awesome. Didn't expect to see BOTW (actual gameplay) on the Switch for a long time. Perhaps Zelda will launch earlier in the Switch's lifetime than we think? Can't wait for March!

@rjejr I'm digging the Little Rascals gif. I remember that episode from when I was a whippersnapper.

@rjejr The only "problem" here is that you're too smart to watch modern television programming without noticing crucial details like that.

THE FRAME RATE LOOKS SO GOOD THATS IT IM GETTING BOTW ON SWITCH

Sucks for the people who bought a Wii U for Zelda, but...

...yeah, I think I'm going Switch on this one.

@Spoony_Tech It was nice to see such genuine enthusiasm on Fallon's part.

I'd be a giddy mess myself if I got that close to Reggie, Miyamoto, and the Nintendo Switch.

I MISSED SO MANY GOOD STUFFS LAST NIGHT BECAUSE I WAS SLEEPING

Thanks @Shiryu for the gif! And Jimmy Fallon's reaction to the Nintendo Switch; is priceless!

@therealgamer: I could not find a clip of Fallon's preview of the Wii U, but this quote from that show was a bit ominous:

“This is the new system. You add it to your Wii or you don’t even need to use the Wii. Do you need to use the Wii?” “You can just use it on your own, but you can also use it with the Wii.”

His confusion = consumer confusion. Let's hope his enthusiasm is mirrored this time around!

@Yorumi Yeat hat's a god point. All those crazy things he's always doing on is show w/ his guests, all of that set up is probably done while he's in his dressing room. So while he probably knew something was going to be a surprise, and he's probably smart enough to know the Switch could be there - he guessed Switch quick enough - maybe he didn't KNOW and there was no prep about the ixnay on the uchscreenay.

@gatorboi352 It's not really the same thing, but I digress. though I do agree with the sentiment that success is largely dependent upon content. Quality content at that. I'd also say the message and the way it's delivered from promotion is just as important. If the message isn't clear, that's also how you get a Wii U on your hands. The message is definately clearer this time, let's just hope they keep that up as it works hand in hand with consumer intrest.

@bluedogrulez here is the clip in question. The Wii U is presented around the 2:40 mark.

@PlywoodStick I'm just going to take that as a compliment and leave it at that.

@sketchturner I like to break it out whenever Nitneod does something good or smart. I get to use it about once a year.

I feel so sorry for Bill in these videos. He is always around Aonuma or Miyamoto and sort of left out, hahah.
#PoorBill

@Qeuix Jimmy reminds me that despite we are all adults, it is still ok to geek out when something as important in our lives like Nintendo pop up a surprise.

I think this was Nintendo maintaining awareness, but not an improvement. We will see what exposure is like after January. This is technically a Wii U title after all. I would like to see a Switch title.

@A01 This is what the back of the console looks like in the video (use the browser to see the full 1080p image):

effectively, the three concavities on the back of the console don't appear to have exhaust grids like in the exhaust vent above the console, which would mean that the Switch in docked mode might not use additional cooling after all.
Honestly, seeing how it is not straightforward to change graphical quality on the go on PC games, I would hardly be surprised if the Switch in docked mode is as powerful as the Switch in handheld mode. It would also be way easier to develop for it if that was the case.

The Switch version looks so much better than the Wii-U version, I'm happy to say.

The explosions and the camera panning were silky smooth, where on the Wii-U they were marred by slowdown.

reggie is a huge troll toying with him about giving him the controls.

Looked pretty smooth! Graphically there's not really anything discernibly different compared to the Wii U version, but I'm very pleased to see no frame drops in this short demo!

@edgedino I know, he's such a tease.
I bet Mr. Fallon got to play a bit more at the backstage. ;D

What we learned:

1. Zelda doesn't look any better on the Switch vs the WiiU.

2. The Switch is plastered with branding on every square inch of the dock, handheld, and peripherals.

@getyourak I don't think most people expected it to look better on the Switch. What we were most concerned about was the framerate, and it definitely looks smooth. The branding is a bit excessive, but do you really think you'll spend much time staring at the back of your Switch when using it as a handheld? Besides, they want people to know what it is when someone uses it in public.

@KirbyTheVampire They should have scraped development on the WiiU game then if it was going to hold back the Switch version so much.

As for the logo. Theres a tasteful way to put a logo on a system - apple products, ps4, xbone, etc. The Switch version isn't tastefully done and it's not a great logo to boot. When you see people using the device in public you want them to want one themselves. Tasteful product design matters - especially if you want to go after a more mature crowd. Apple will attest to this.

@Snader Yes. Yes! Let the hate run through you.

Seriously though. The guy is a unfunny hack. Anyone who believes he has a genuine bone in his body needs to rethink think their standing in life by moving onto a farm to hang with the other sheep.

Jimmy looked like a kid on Christmas morning during that segment. Seeing this thing in motion now my hype levels is on overdrive. And yes I reacted the same way too.

I started screaming like Jimmy Fallon when it switched to a handheld. It's so amazing that such a BIG game can be played on such a tiny screen now! I thought it would be at like 20 FPS! It looks awesome!

Good ol' Fallon and Reggie... free Nintendo advertising. I loved it

@getyourak They couldn't really scrap it, since they promised Wii U owners that they would be getting this game before anyone even knew the Switch existed. They also couldn't make it more graphically impressive, because Wii U owners would feel shafted. It's more important for the overall success of a company to gently lay their products to rest, rather than drop them in the grave like a ton of bricks, especially with such a failure like the Wii U. Wii U owners already got the short end of the stick with the lack of 3rd party support and whatnot.

I don't feel like the logo isn't tasteful, but that combined with all the white writing below it is a bit extreme. I feel like if they could do away with the writing below the logo when it's being used as a handheld, it would be pretty much perfect. Even so, I feel like the majority of people care more about the system itself and what it's capable of than they do the logo.

@Sir_JBizzle "If the message isn't clear, that's also how you get a Wii U on your hands. The message is definitely clearer this time"

While this is true, unfortunately for Nintendo the Wii U is already a thing that happened. They are now fighting an uphill battle of rising from the ashes of that disaster.

Here's to hoping they turn things around with Switch IN SPITE OF Wii U. I just don't see it with everything we know up to this point.

@KirbyTheVampire I hear you. I understand the business side of things with them keeping their promise to WiiU owners. On the other hand WiiU owners are pretty much the Nintendo die hards - 10 million strong and they all likely buy the switch version. If both versions come out the same time I'll be interested to see what the sales numbers are for each in comparison.

One final note on the branding. It's just too much. Takes up too much % of the real estate on the devices. Especially for a docking kit that will need to likely be outside or on top of an entertainment cabinet unlike my PS4 which I can hide inside. Personally I don't want to advertise me owning the switch to every guest that comes over to my apt.

@Mister_Wu There might be something on the bottom, which has never been clearly visible, so I wouldn't rule it out yet if I were you.

And there's nothing realistic about putting a damper on everyone's enthusiasm by continuously telling people what you think the console won't be able to do.

Don't know if you're doing it on purpose or maybe you don't even notice it yourself, but that certainly is how it comes across, and that's a shame, because there's no need (and certainly no want) for it.

Even though they are only rumors, almost every week again these leaks from Laura Kate Dale are found to be true and her and her crew of LetsPlayVideoGames being banned from any and all future Nintendo related (press) events is a HUGE sign that they are leaking things that Nintendo doesn't want leaked for whatever reason, and that would only be relevant if what they are saying is actually true, so we actually SHOULD expect the system to run better when docked. Both because of the lack of strain on the battery, and because 1080p has already been done many times on the Wii U, so the Switch should be able to do that with one hand tied behind its back...

The handheld is clearly 720p, so a slight upscale to 1080p is not going to be an issue at ALL. And I also have no idea what the hell you are talking about concerning the "problems" of PC games switching settings on the go. It's as easy as pie: pause the game, go to the settings menu, change settings, switch effects on or off and continue your game in a different graphical setting.

I already mentioned the auto settings for installing and starting up games depending on your rig, and another good example is so-called "thinstalled" games: I have several on a large capacity USB stick, and these actually can change their settings on the fly, depending on which PC I play them on.

A friend of mine is a real PC gamer, and his rig is almost three times as powerful as mine, and I can definitely see those thinstalled games running much, much smoother and with more graphical fidelity than on my, admittedly pretty old, multi-purpose PC.

So yeah, seeing and making problems that aren't really there (yet)...

@DanteSolablood 30p(29.97) is the broadcast standard in US

Awesome!! That's the magic of Nintendo.

I'm not really a Fallon fan but have to admit his excitement was contagious! I started geeking out along with him even knowing what was coming. Wished i had watched this last night to have gotten the "true" surprise but oh well. I'm excited.

That video has so much excitement and anticipation for two Nintendo products, that is hard not to get excited in tandem with it.

Great advertisement for the Big N!

@ThanosReXXX The crazy thing is that from a historical perspective, the Nintendo of gaming past would have already revealed pretty much all of the most relevant details of a newly upcoming system. At this point, we should be starting to learn the hard specs data for the system, as revealed through industry channels, not just beginning to see gameplay videos, much less live gameplay. Someone was bound to start leaking info at some point- Nintendo is being far more secretive than they should be, to the point it could end up hurting them. They had to be forced to make a showcase in December.

I remember getting an issue of Next Generation magazine right before the N64 released, which went into great detail on the nitty gritty of the N64's capabilities, and Nintendo was very open about sharing specs data. Not only that, they explained how it all applied to the upcoming games (many of which had already been known of since E3 '95/'96, and Space World '95). But that's not all- they detailed their marketing plan, how they were going to tackle their disadvantages, and how they were going to stay relevant with a supposedly inferior medium. Whereas today, they're showing nada, zilch, zip.

This current behavior would have never flied 20 years ago, and I'm surprised how much a lot of people are accepting it now. Something had to give.

@PlywoodStick I don't understand it, either. Were it not for these rumors and leaks, I wouldn't be half as hyped for this system as I am. They don't have to show us everything right away, but a few glimpses at the system every now and then would be nice. Them showing it on this show was a big breath of fresh air, since I really wasn't expecting anything else from Nintendo about the Switch until January.

@PlywoodStick I was thinking that about the secrecy too, but...if it was a touchscreen, that could ruin the 3DS sales for the holiday, so I see why they won't say 'yes' or 'no' to that yet. Also, they stated that they never wanted people to copy the system, but unfortunately, it's probably already getting ready to start. For a while, the 'hype' that people were getting for nintendo to even mention what the NX was at that time, was unbelievable, which I still never got, because if you owned a Wii U, why would you get excited to put it aside and invest in another nintendo console right away? I know I got rid of my Wii U over a year ago (miss a few games, but not enough to get it back), but I'm still skeptical about the SWITCH...I want it on launch, but I don't want it to be like the Wii U in terms of retail games. I loved the gamecube, and the games were pouring out for that, so maybe, just maybe, if it surpasses that system's sales, we'll see plenty of exclusive 3rd party games, but when I hear that 3rd parties are once again re-releasing titles that are already months to years old on the other consoles, it's not a good sign...if nintendo is learning from their mistakes, how come nobody blames the 3rd parties for their mistakes and they don't learn from them. Wii U's 3rd party line up was almost all re-releases at full prices...why pay $60 for Mass Effect 3, when you could get it for $20 on PS3 or 360, or even $20 for the whole trilogy on PS3...understand if someone didn't own those systems, but still.

@KirbyTheVampire It would be good if they would start advertising a little more for this holiday season, where they could get kids (who would be off school), more excited for buying it...hounding their parents...like my kids are doing to me after seeing the reveal on this site. After holiday showing, can wear it down pretty quickly, and the only people that would really be getting it...besides scalpers and a few fans that can find it, are the ones with income tax returns. The only good thing I see coming out of the launch date, is the fact that it is near summer, which means vacations, but other than that, not many people play as much in the summer months, and I guess I was always thinking it would be released for holidays...I guess time will tell though, and I really hope it becomes a huge hit....with how many watches about it and rumors, how can it not be a hit, but January reveal will be the top point, and hopefully nintendo has a big game plan for that date!

@JLPick Maybe in the next 10 or 15 years Nintendo will learn how to be effective at marketing, but seemingly that won't happen any time soon, as the Wii U clearly showed. Let's hope the system itself can make up for it.

Fallon is a LEGIT fan! It was so fun watching him actually enjoy the games. Fallon YOU ROCK!!!

@JLPick My first thoughts were that March wasn't a good time to release it but I'm now thinking it could be the perfect time.Nintendo fans will buy it at launch,like they did with the Wii U along with those who were influenced into purchasing one by Super Mario Run and the Mini NES.Then during the year a steady stream of big games,something the Wii U never had,a killer E3 fully focused on one console,more mobile games,Zelda in the summer,Pokemon in the fall and by the time the holidays come,the Switch should have a really great library of games and Nintendo can really push it.3D Mario,Zelda,Pokemon,MK8,Splatoon etc.Those who were waiting to see how it goes will find it hard to resist that line up.

@ThanosReXXX To be clear, unless horrible news about worker exploitations arise, as soon as I'll have the money, I'll buy the Switch, regardless of its specs.

I'm worried by the mismatch between what Nintendo told us and the expectations. What did Nintendo tell us about the dock?

"At home, Nintendo Switch rests in the Nintendo Switch dock that connects the console to the TV and lets you play with family and friends in the comfort of your living room. By simply lifting the Nintendo Switch console from the dock, it will instantly transition to handheld mode, and the same great gaming experience that was being enjoyed at home now travels with you. The portability of Nintendo Switch is enhanced by its bright high-definition display. It brings the full home gaming system experience with you to the park, on a train, in a car, or to a friend’s apartment."

There's not even a line suggesting that the dock makes the console more powerful, if anything, I'd almost say the contrary is being told!

After all, the graphical prowess was not the selling point of the console in its presentation, as Nintendo themselves stated:

"Today’s video incorporated short glimpses of representative gameplay to demonstrate the liberating nature of the Nintendo Switch home gaming system."

I feel like the Switch is being expected to do what Nintendo didn't show us it is meant to do, and in general I prefer to stick with what Nintendo wants to show us about performance, because that has not been their focus in the latest years. This way I will better appreciate the positive rumors that will turn out to be true, by the way. Building up huge expectations that start to clash with what Nintendo is affirming can be risky, in my opinion.

To quote Blur's Song 2: Woooooooooooo-hooooo!

Really great demonstration, not only to show off the Switch in action, but also to give the system (and Nintendo) some much-needed PR and visibility.

My body is so damn ready!

Fallon was seen explaining the Switch to someone at a Cavs basketball game today so his excitement is definitely genuine. Watched this live last night so I was geeking out just like Fallon when it was revealed. This was great advertising for Nintendo and the whole segment was great. Looks like that analog triggers rumor turned out to be true too 😀

Switch looks great. I'm even more excited now.

Reggie made me barf.

@KirbyTheVampire Could be too late in 10-15 years for them (that's 2-3 consoles later), but hopefully they market the Switch right, but with holding out all of the secrets, it's not doing much for them. NES, Super NES and even the N64 were marketed pretty good...plenty of commercials...which is what nintendo needs to do, instead of being worried about handing over money to promote it. Sometimes, I'm wondering how greedy nintendo is in their buildings, because it doesn't seem like they want to hand anything over...they could have recovered with the Wii U by advertising the heck out of it, but they didn't...I never even saw Smash or Mario Kart commercials, and they could have advertised Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101 and even Bayonetta 2. Television Ads (super bowl time is the best), Talk Shows (the nighttime ones, like they did here), internet (not just their own sites) and even magazines (including newspapers if they can) are the best way. Let the parents (like myself) know about it, get kids excited for it (they bother the parents then and pressure them), let gamers of PC, PS4 and XBONE know about it (second console for them to enjoy great games and fun times on) then they become set. They don't need to advertise Smash or Mario Kart, Mario Adventures or some of those, advertise the new IP's, Zelda, Metroid, F-zero and the 3rd party great games (T-M rated for the older audiences that seem to really only care for those kind). I really hope, just like you, that they learned.

@PlywoodStick Yeah, agreed on that. They are definitely being "a bit" too tight-lipped for their own good. I was actually surprised that they showed the system in playable form now, didn't see that coming considering their current behavior.

But still, in general I'm not quite fond of third party websites or leakers spoiling all the surprises. In the recent past, leakers were wrong more often than not, but LKD and her buddies at LPVG are certainly racking up a decent number of correct leaks and I think it would be nice if they slow down that behavior a bit by now.

It's almost like us breaking into a shop, because they have decided to delay their grand opening and we simply take matters into our own hands because we think that they should have opened their doors already.

Yes, it's different behavior than what we are used to from them, but that doesn't justify other parties spoiling stuff for them. They will reveal what they want to reveal, when they think it's time to reveal it. It's their product, so they have every right, whether we like it or not.

And for the record: I don't like it either, but I've waited for so long now, that yet another month certainly isn't going to kill me...

@Mister_Wu But you see, that's just the thing: I'm not expecting anything huge. I'm just expecting it to run better when inserted into the dock, with the accompanying improvement in resolution and frame rate. That is really nothing too far-fetched to expect.

And since when do we believe all that Nintendo says? They never talk hardware, so I'll take that with a grain of salt. There are just too many persistent leaks telling us the system will have improved performance when docked, and the rule is that where there is smoke, there is fire.

And we still haven't heard from Nvidia either. They'll probably be there as well in January, or maybe do their own presentation and give us a technical breakdown of the system's capabilities, but I'm definitely expecting it to be considerably better than the Shield handheld and the standard Tegra X1, which again, is definitely nothing too far-fetched.

In the end, all that matters is that Nintendo and Nvidia give us a decent system, that performs well, can play great looking games, and has a decent amount of third party support, and from all reports now steadily dropping in, that seems to be exactly what is happening, so I'm not worried at all.

I still think they should have strategically moved the upcoming Switch presentation up to late November, or early December. I'm not going to say that I'm never going to own a Switch, but I may have moved in a different direction and I'm not sure if my schedule and wallet will now be able to accommodate the Switch. I held out long enough but I got tired of waiting on Nintendo to tell us more details. Who knows, maybe the price will be around $200-$250 like some are saying. That's not a horrible price. We shall see.

@PlywoodStick you are so right. Hey even a new stadium with 750+ would be fkn great!

@ThanosReXXX I agree with your sentiments. And yes, ultimately, what Nintendo says, goes. I just wanted to point out the catch there: what goes is what today's Nintendo says, not what the Nintendo of 10-20 years ago would have said. Just keep in mind that there's all kinds of people (like dkxcalibur, comment #176) who aren't being given enough information to make a fully informed decision, and must now choose between saving up for who knows what on the Sandwitch, or going with known choices on a PS4/XB1 or PC for the holiday.

@JLPick The 3DS is selling quite well enough overall, largely thanks to Pokemon, although the New 3DS XL is having trouble moving due to still being priced in the $180-200 range, which is not so far away anymore from a PS4 or XB1. (And IPS screens instead of TN screens still aren't guaranteed for the New XL models... cheapskates.) People are really clamoring for a $100-150 regular sized New 3DS, and now that NA has had a taste of it, the folly of letting it go for so long has become realized.

There's not going to be any backwards compatibility on the Sandwitch, so there's literally no harm in showing off it's touchscreen capabilities. It's not going to directly replace the 3DS, or at least not right away. Not to mention, the Sandwitch won't use dual screens, so the DS/3DS library will remain unique. There's very few people who even own a Wii U, so it hardly makes a difference in the grand scheme of things to have revealed the "NX" earlier.

Third parties definitely didn't know what they were doing on Wii U in general. However, I suspect Nintendo may have been "winging it" with third party support just as much as they had been "winging it" with their near total lack of marketing and advertising for the Wii U's entire tenure. I hope that third parties now realize the self-fulfilling prophecy of doing things like Ubisoft artificially delaying the release of Rayman Legends after it was already completed, just to meet a multiplatform date; or EA trying to pawn off only the final entry of the Mass Effect series on a system that didn't have any previous entries on it, and not making the online multiplayer mode have cross platform support since Nintendo begged off Origin. Ultimately, however, it is up to Nintendo to manage their third party relations, and to prevent situations like that from getting out of hand.

@PlywoodStick Well, we all got the same amount of information, so we're all in the same boat together. The only difference will be the ones that are considering buying the system at launch or waiting it out a little bit to see how the system will perform and then buying it.

For some, that wait will be too long and they will buy an Xbox One or a PS4, but others will simply adopt the wait and see stance, as will I. I'm interested in the Switch, yet not fully convinced either, but that does not mean that I should already dismiss it as an option, simply because there's not enough information yet.

To me, that would be like only buying one of the other systems because I have no choice, which in my opinion is the absolute worst and dumbest reason to buy a console, because it very much sounds like going for second best to me, even though there will obviously also a lot of great games on those other systems. I'm not opposed to other systems, but I do want to make an informed choice, and if that means waiting until they are ready to reveal the rest of the games and what the system can do, then so be it.

And what is another month if we have already been waiting for so long? I'm pretty sure we'll survive unscathed...

@PlywoodStick That's what I was getting at (sorry if this or the other comment was taken the wrong way). But, if they announce touchscreen controls, it could hurt 3DS sales (as people wouldn't want that with all the rumors about the Switch, thinking that they'd get a dead console or system...which is what I hear people say about the Wii U at the moment). Yeah, you're absolutely right about the 3rd party developers...Mass Effect 3 was dumb to bring out without the previous two entries...as well as Batman Arkham City and Arkham Origins without the original. Nintendo always got screwed in that area...Legacy Of Kain Blood Omen 2 came out on gamecube, but neither other entries ever did...same went with the sequels to Baldurs Gate Dark Alliance, Gauntlet Dark Legacy (didn't get Seven Sorrows) and even Bloodrayne. It kind of makes me wonder if it's just the 3rd party developers or even a little fault on nintendo themselves. I really hope it changes for the Switch, but after I started seeing the rumors or truth, it seems that they're doing the same with more games coming out that are already out on the other consoles and PC's almost a year or so old. It would be fine, if they lowered the games cost to what they are on the other consoles, but (even if you can now play them on the go), I wouldn't even pay a high cost for a game I've already played or own, just to play it on the go. I hope, many of us are wrong about this, but I still don't see it going back to the way it was for a few more years, or possibly another generation, but it's all going to come down to the sales of the Switch, the user base buying more than just nintendo-based games, and how many different genres are available...I'd love to have some 'real' sports sims, not kiddie-versions that appeared on the Wii regularly, but I guess we'll all have to wait and see. I'll be purchasing the Switch (maybe not on day one, as it's going to seem to be sold out for a while), but one day before 2018 at least...and I'll enjoy along with many others, but I don't see it being sold as a primary console to people who want to play various games...it'll be bought as a secondary one and hopefully, surpass Wii sales and bring nintendo back into the limelight again!!!!